{N}VANITY OF VANITIES{/}

{1}1{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}Here are the words of the Teacher, son of David, king in 
Jerusalem:
[=]_{I}2_{/}All is meaningless - says the Teacher - meaningless, 
meaningless!
{R}_{I}3_{/}What profit is there for a man in all his work for which he 
toils under the sun?
{I}4_{/}A generation goes, a generation comes and the earth remains 
forever. {I}5_{/}The sun rises, the sun sets, hastening towards the 
place where it again rises. {I}6_{/}Blowing to the south, turning to 
the north, the wind goes round and round and after all its rounds 
it has to blow again.
{R}_{I}7_{/}All rivers go to the sea but the sea is not full; to the 
place where the rivers come from, there they return again.
{I}8_{/}All words become weary and speech comes to an end, but the eye 
has never seen enough nor the ear heard too much.
{I}9_{/}What has happened before will happen again; what has been done 
before will be done again: there is nothing new under the sun.
{I}10_{/}If they say to you, "See, it's new!" know that it has already 
been centuries earlier.
{I}11_{/}There is no remembrance of ancient people, and those to come 
will not be remembered by those who follow them.

{N}EVEN WISDOM IS MEANINGLESS{/}

{R}_{I}12_{/}I, the teacher, have been king of Israel in Jerusalem. 
{I}13_{/}I set my heart on studying and examining critically all that 
is done under heaven.
{R}_{I}14_{/}It is a burdensome task which God has given to the sons of 
men! I have seen everything that is done under the sun, but all is 
meaningless: it is chasing the wind. {I}15_{/}What is bent cannot be 
straightened; what is not will not come to be.
[=]_{R}_{I}16_{/}I thought to myself, "See, I have increased and promoted 
wisdom more than anyone who ruled Jerusalem before me and I have 
experienced to the full both wisdom and knowledge." {I}17_{/}I set my 
heart on comparing wisdom with foolishness and stupidity, and I 
discovered that this also is chasing the wind.
{I}18_{/}For the wiser you are, the more worries you have, and the 
more you learn, the more you suffer.

{N}EMPTY PLEASURES{/}

{1}2{/}

[\u0095]_{I}1_{/}I said in my heart, "I will try pleasure! taste 
happiness!" But I found that was useless. {I}2_{/}Laughter is 
foolishness! As for pleasure, what good is it? {R}_{I}3_{/}I thought of 
cheering my body with wine while my heart searched for wisdom. So 
I gave myself to folly in order to find out what would be good for 
man to do under the sun throughout his life.
{I}4_{/}I did great things: I built houses and planted vineyards. 
{I}5_{/}I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees. 
{I}6_{/}I constructed reservoirs to irrigate the orchards. {R}_{I}7_{/}I 
bought slaves and servants and had slaves born in my household. I 
had flocks and herds in abundance more than anyone before me in 
Jerusalem. {R}_{I}8_{/}I acquired silver and gold - the wealth of kings 
and nations. I had choirmaster and singers and besides that, what 
most delights men. {R}_{I}9_{/}I became great, surpassing all my 
predecessors in Jerusalem without losing wisdom. {I}10_{/}I refused 
myself nothing that my eyes desired nor did I deprive my heart of 
any pleasure. I enjoyed all I undertook and that was my reward for 
my work.
{I}11_{/}Then I considered all I had achieved by my work and all the 
toil it had entailed and found that it was all meaningless and 
chasing wind. There is  no profit under the sun.
[=]_{R}_{I}12_{/}I then decided to compare wisdom with folly and madness 
and I thought, "What will my successor as king do?" (We know what 
he did!)
{I}13_{/}I understood that wisdom is more profitable than folly, just 
as light is better than darkness:
[=]_{R}_{I}14_{/}The wise man has eyes in his head, while the fool walks 
in darkness.
But it dawned on me that the same fate overtakes them both. 
{I}15_{/}And I thought, "If the fate of the fool will be mine as well, 
what did my wisdom profit me?"  I thought to myself that, too, is 
meaningless. [=]_{R}_{I}16_{/}There is no more remembrance of the wise 
man than of the fool: both will be forgotten in the days to come. 
Why is a wise man's death like that of a fool?
{I}17_{/}So I hated life seeing the wrong in everything that is done 
under the sun: all is meaningless and chasing wind. {I}18_{/}I hated 
all I had labored for under the sun and which I must leave to my 
successor. {I}19_{/}Who knows whether he will be foolish or wise? Yet 
he will be master of all {I}20_{/}I have achieved by my own efforts 
and wisdom: that too is meaningless.
And I began to despair in my heart over all my labor under the 
sun. {R}_{I}21_{/}For here was a man who toiled in all wisdom, knowledge 
and skill and he must leave all to someone who has not worked for 
it. This is meaningless and a great misfortune. {R}_{I}22_{/}For what 
profit is there for a man in all his work and heart-searching 
under the sun? [=]_{I}23_{/}All his days bring sorrow, his work grief; 
he hasn't, moreover, peaceful rest at night: that too is 
meaningless.
[=]_{R}_{I}24_{/}There is nothing better for man to do than to eat and 
drink and find satisfaction in his work. I understood that this 
too comes from the hand of God. {I}25_{/}For without him who can eat 
or find enjoyment?
[=]_{R}_{I}26_{/}To the man who pleases him, he gives wisdom, knowledge 
and joy, while to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and 
storing up what will be given to another who pleases God: this too 
is meaningless and chasing wind.

{N}A TIME FOR EVERYTHING{/}

{1}3{/}

[\u0095]_{I}1_{/}There is a given time for everything and a time for every 
happening under heaven:
{I}2_{/}A time for giving birth, a time for dying; a time for 
planting, a time for uprooting.
{I}3_{/}A time for killing, a time for healing; a time for knocking 
down, a time for building.
{I}4_{/}A time for tears, a time for laughter; a time for mourning, a 
time for dancing.
{I}5_{/}A time for throwing stones, a time for gathering stones; a 
time for embracing, a time to refrain from embracing.
{I}6_{/}A time for searching, a time for losing; a time for keeping, a 
time for throwing away.
{I}7_{/}A time for tearing, a time for sewing: a time to be silent and 
a time to speak.
{I}8_{/}A time for loving, a time for hating; a time for war, a time 
for peace.
{R}_{I}9_{/}What profit is there for a man from all his toils?
{R}_{I}10_{/}Finally I considered the task God gave to the sons of men. 
[=]_{R}_{I}11_{/}He made everything fitting in its time, but he also set 
eternity in their hearts, although man is not able to embrace the 
work of God from the beginning to the end.
{I}12_{/}I know that there is nothing better for him to do than to 
seek pleasure and well-being during his life. {R}_{I}13_{/}To eat, drink 
and find satisfaction in his work is a gift from God.
[=]_{R}_{I}14_{/}I know that everything God does remains forever; there 
is nothing to add, nothing to take from it. Yet God has ordained 
that men fear him.
{R}_{I}15_{/}What has happened comes again; what is now has already been; 
God recovers what has gone. {I}16_{/}I have also seen under the sun, 
instead of justice, wickedness, and in the place of the just, the 
wicked. {R}_{I}17_{/}And I said to myself, "God will judge the just and 
the wicked for there is a time for everything, and a judgment for 
every deed."
[\u0095]_{R}_{I}18_{/}I also thought about men, how God wants to test them and 
let them see that they themselves are animals.
{R}_{I}19_{/}For the destiny of man and animal is identical: death for 
one as for the other. [=]_{R}_{I}20_{/}Both have the same spirit; man has 
no superiority over animals for all pass away like wind. Both go 
to the same place, both come from dust and return to dust.
[=]_{R}_{I}21_{/}Who knows if the spirit of man rises upward and if the 
spirit of the beast descends earthward? {R}_{I}22_{/}I understood that 
the best man can do is to be happy in what he does, for that is 
his lot. For who will take him to see the beyond?

{1}4{/}

{I}1_{/}I considered also how much oppression there is under the sun: 
the tears of the oppressed and no one to console them, the 
violence of the oppressors and no one to hold them back.
{R}_{I}2_{/}More fortunate are the dead for being dead, than the living 
who have to live, [=]_{I}3_{/}and even more fortunate than both is the 
one not yet born who has not seen the abuses under the sun.
{I}4_{/}I saw that all that is done, all that succeeds, results from 
rivalry with the neighbor: all is meaningless and chasing the 
wind.
{I}5_{/}The fool folds his arms and eats his meat. {I}6_{/}Yet better half 
a fistful of rest than fistfuls of toil and chasing the wind.
{I}7_{/}I saw another senseless thing under the sun: {R}_{I}8_{/}a man alone, 
without son or brother, working endlessly, his greed never 
satisfied with wealth: "For whom do I work and deprive myself of 
pleasure?" This, too, is nonsense and mistaken investment.
{I}9_{/}Happier two than one alone, for their work brings a higher 
salary, {I}10_{/}and when one falls the other lifts up his companion. 
Unfortunate he who is alone and has no one to lift him up. 
{I}11_{/}Moreover it's warmer with two in bed; how can one alone be 
warm? {I}12_{/}One person may be overcome by an aggressor, but two can 
easily oppose him; triple-stranded thread is not easily broken.
{R}_{I}13_{/}Better a youth who is poor and wise than a fool of an old 
king who shuns advice. {R}_{I}14_{/}He may even pass from prison to the 
throne, though born poor in his kingdom. {I}15_{/}I saw all who live 
under the sun follow the youth who replaced the latter and there 
was no end to the people who sided with him. {I}16_{/}And yet those 
who will come after will not be satisfied. This too makes no 
sense; it's nothing but chasing wind.

{N}WISE SAYINGS{/}

[=]_{R}_{I}17_{/}Watch your step when you go to God's house; it's a 
better offering to listen, than to present sacrifices as do the 
fools; for they do not know the evil they do.

{1}5{/}

[=]_{R}_{I}1_{/}Don't be impulsive and hasty with words in the presence 
of God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. For that reason 
let your words be few.
[=]_{I}2_{/}For dreams come from over-anxiety and foolish talk from 
too many words.
[=]_{R}_{I}3_{/}When you make a vow to God, waste no time in fulfilling 
it, for he takes no pleasure in fools. Do what you vowed.
{I}4_{/}Better not to make a vow than to fail to fulfill it.
{R}_{I}5_{/}Don't let your speech cause you to sin, and then tell God's 
minister it was a mistake. Why anger God by what you say and 
destroy the work of your hands? From much dreaming and many words 
comes emptiness. {R}_{I}6_{/}So fear God.
{I}7_{/}If you see the poor oppressed, right and justice denied in the 
province, do not be surprised, for over a high-placed official a 
higher one watches, and over both of these a still higher one 
watches. {R}_{I}8_{/}The produce of the land benefits everyone and the 
king serves the land.
{I}9__{/}Whoever loves money will not be satisfied with money. Whoever 
loves wealth hasn't sufficient income. This is senseless.
{I}10_{/}When there is abundance of good things there is abundance of 
consumers. What profit is there for the owner except to look on?
{R}_{I}11_{/}Sweet the sleep of the laborer, whether he eats little or 
much. But the rich man who has had his fill cannot sleep.
{R}_{I}12_{/}There is a great evil that I found under the sun, the rich 
man who kept his wealth to his own harm. {I}13_{/}A mistaken 
investment and these riches are lost; a son is born but there is 
nothing to leave him.
[=]_{I}14_{/}Naked he came from his mother's womb, he returns as he 
came - naked. Nothing of the fruit of his toil is he able to take 
with him.
{I}15_{/}That, too, is a grievous evil: As he came, so he goes. So 
what did he gain from chasing the wind? [=]_{I}16_{/}Why did he eat in 
darkness all through his life, amidst great sorrow, suffering and 
vexation?
{R}_{I}17_{/}This is what I saw as most fitting for man: to eat, drink 
and be happy in all the work he does under the sun during the days 
God grants him; this is his reward. {R}_{I}18_{/}And when God gives a man 
riches and property with the possibility of enjoying them and 
being happy in his work, this is a gift from God. {R}_{I}19_{/}As long as 
God keeps him occupied in the gladness of his heart, he is not 
concerned about how long he will live.

{1}6{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}There is another very evil thing which I saw under the sun: a 
man has riches, property, honor, and lacks nothing he could 
desire, [=]_{R}_{I}2_{/}yet God does not permit him to benefit from them; 
a stranger has the enjoyment. That is nonsense and a grievous 
hurt.
[=]_{R}_{I}3_{/}What if a man had a hundred sons and lived many years but 
without tasting happiness and even without a tomb! More fortunate, 
I would say, the one untimely-born. {I}4_{/}For he came in vain and 
goes to darkness and in darkness will his name be hidden. {R}_{I}5_{/}He 
has not seen the sun and has not known it. Finally he has had more 
rest than that man. {I}6_{/}Even if he should live a thousand years 
twice over, but without tasting happiness; do not both go to the 
same place?
{R}_{I}7_{/}Man works to fill his stomach, yet he himself is not 
satisfied.
{R}_{I}8_{/}Has the wise man more than the fool? What is the benefit of 
wisdom to one overwhelmed by poverty?
{I}9_{/}What the eye sees seems better than what the heart desires. 
That, too, is senseless and chasing wind.
{R}_{I}10_{/}Everything has already been evaluated. One knows what man is 
and that he cannot dispute with the one stronger than himself.
{I}11_{/}Many words, much emptiness; what does it profit? 
[=]_{R}_{I}12_{/}Who knows what is the good way of life for man, during 
the days of his meaningless life which pass like a shadow? Who 
will let him know what will happen after he has gone?

{1}7{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}An honorable name is better than perfumed oil. Better the day 
of death than the day of birth.
{I}2_{/}Better to go to a house of mourning than to a house of 
feasting, for to this end all come, and let the living take this 
to heart: {R}_{I}3_{/}Sorrow is better than laughter, for a sad face 
brings healing to the soul. [*]_[=]_{R}_{I}4_{/}The heart of the wise man 
is in the house of mourning, while the heart of the fool is in the 
house of feasting.
{R}_{I}5_{/}Better to heed the rebuke of a wise man than to listen to a 
fool's song. {I}6_{/}Like the crackling of thorns under a pot is the 
fool's laugh.
[=]_{R}_{I}7_{/}Oppression makes a wise man mad, but a bribe corrupts his 
heart.
{R}_{I}8_{/}Better to reach the end than to begin. Better patience than a 
haughty spirit.
[=]_{I}9_{/}Don't be easily dejected, for dejection resides in the 
womb of fools.
{I}10_{/}Do not ask why former times were better than the present. It 
is not wisdom that prompts such a question.
{I}11_{/}Wisdom is as precious as an inheritance; it is a blessing for 
those on whom the sun shines. {I}12_{/}If wisdom protects you, money 
will do the same. This is the benefit of acquiring wisdom: it 
makes its owner live.
{R}_{I}13_{/}See the work of God. Who can straighten what he has bent? 
{I}14_{/}Be happy in the day of prosperity and in the day of sorrow 
reflect: {R}_{I}15_{/}God has given both one and the other and many may 
discover what comes later.
{I}16_{/}Do not be over-righteous or excessively wise, lest you harm 
yourself. {I}17_{/}Do not be too wicked or too stupid, lest you die 
before your time.
{R}_{I}18_{/}It is well to hold to one and not to loosen your grasp on 
the other. The God-fearing man copes with both.
{R}_{I}19_{/}Wisdom makes the wise man stronger than ten rulers in the 
city. [=]_{R}_{I}20_{/}There is no righteous man on earth who always does 
good and never sins.
{I}21_{/}Don't take seriously all that you hear, lest you hear your 
servant speak ill of you. [=]_{I}22_{/}You know well how many times 
you have spoken ill of others!
{I}23_{/}After having examined all this critically I said, "I will be 
wise!" {I}24_{/}But how far it is from me! more remote than anything, 
and deep, very{I}_{/} deep. {I}_{/}Who could discover it?
{I}25_{/}I set myself in all earnestness to know, study and pursue 
wisdom and reason, so I saw that wickedness is folly, and 
foolishness, stupidity.
[\u0095]_{R}_{I}26_{/}I find woman more bitter than death. She is a pitfall; 
her heart is a snare and her arms, chains. He who pleases God will 
escape from her, but the sinner will be caught.
{I}27_{/}See what I discovered - says the Teacher - after considering 
them one after another, anxious to understand. {R}_{I}28_{/}I have been 
searching but have not yet found; for a man among a thousand I may 
find, but not a woman among all of them.
{R}_{I}29_{/}See what I discovered: God made man simple, but they get 
lost in their many thoughts.

{1}8{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}Who is like the wise man? Who else can solve a problem? A 
man's wisdom lights up his expression - his stern look is changed.
[=]_{R}_{I}2_{/}Obey the command of the king because of the oath before 
God and {I}3_{/}don't be eager to ignore it. Do not stubbornly support 
a bad cause, for he will do what he pleases. {R}_{I}4_{/}The king's word 
holds. Who will say to him, "What are you doing?"
{R}_{I}5_{/}Whoever obeys a royal precept avoids trouble. The wise man 
knows the time and the judgment - {R}_{I}6_{/}the time to act and the 
value of everything.
This misfortune weighs heavily on man: {I}7_{/}he has no knowledge of 
what will happen. Who can tell him what will happen? {R}_{I}8_{/}No man 
controls the wind or holds back the day of death. Struggle is 
useless and not even wickedness saves its author. {R}_{I}9_{/}I have 
observed this and set myself to consider everything that is done 
under the sun, when man is given the power of harming another.
[\u0095]_[=]_{I}10_{/}And so I have seen the wicked buried and people come 
from the holy place to honor them, forgetting how they acted. 
This, too, is futile.

{I}11_{/}It is because sentence against wrongdoing is not passed at 
once that men turn to evil designs. {R}_{I}12_{/}The sinner may do wrong 
a hundred times and yet survive.
(I know well that there will be happiness for the God-fearing man 
because he fears God, {R}_{I}13_{/}but there will be no happiness for the 
wicked; and because he doesn't fear God, he will pass like a 
shadow and his days will not last.)
{I}14_{/}Another kind of nonsense is found in what humans do on earth: 
the righteous are treated as the wicked deserve, and the wicked, 
as the righteous deserve. This, too, is meaningless.
{R}_{I}15_{/}So I praise joy, since for man there is no happiness under 
the sun other than eating, drinking and taking pleasure in his 
work throughout the life God gives him under the sun. {I}16_{/}When I 
set out to get wisdom and considered the human condition on earth, 
by day or by night when people sleep and are not conscious, 
{R}_{I}17_{/}I saw that with regard to God's work, as a whole, no man is 
able to discover what the work is that goes on under the sun; 
though he tire himself searching, he will not find out. And if the 
wise man claims to know, he does not.

{1}9{/}

[=]_{R}_{I}1_{/}I have pondered on all this and now I understand that the 
just, the wise and all they do are in the hand of God. Man does 
not know whether hate or love is in store for him. {R}_{I}2_{/}What is 
most senseless is that the same destiny awaits all, the virtuous 
and the wicked, the clean and the unclean, the one who sacrifices 
and the one who doesn't. It is then the same for the good man and 
the sinner, for the one who swears and the one who refrains from 
swearing.
{R}_{I}3_{/}The same fate comes to all: this is the evil which corrupts 
all that is done under the sun. This is why man's heart is full of 
evil and foolishness during his life and his end is with the dead. 
{R}_{I}4_{/}As long as he shares with the living there is hope, a live 
dog being better than a dead  lion. {R}_{I}5_{/}The living at least know 
they will die but the dead know nothing; neither do they await 
anything; the memory of them has vanished. {I}6_{/}Their love, hate 
and jealousy have already perished and they no longer have a share 
in all that is done under the sun.
{R}_{I}7_{/}Go, eat your bread with gladness and drink your wine 
joyfully; this is God's approval of your work. {I}8_{/}Dress in white 
and perfume your head.
[=]_{R}_{I}9_{/}Enjoy life with the wife you love all the days of the 
meaningless life given you by God under the sun, for this is your 
lot in life and in the work you do under the sun.
[=]_{R}_{I}10_{/}Fulfill your projects while you are able, for among the 
dead where you are going there is no work, no planning, no 
knowledge, no wisdom.
{I}11_{/}I saw something else under the sun: the race is not won by 
the swift, nor the battle by the strong, nor does bread go to the 
wise nor riches to the intelligent; favor is not for the learned, 
for  fortune and misfortune overtake them all.
[=]_{R}_{I}12_{/}For man is not aware of his time: just as fish are 
caught in the treacherous net and sparrows trapped in the snare, 
man, like them, is caught by misfortune suddenly befalling him.

{N}MORE PROVERBS{/}

{I}13_{/}I have considered something else very grave under the sun. 
{R}_{I}14_{/}There was a small town with few inhabitants. A king set out 
to attack it, laid siege to it and built great siege-works around 
it. [=]_{R}_{I}15_{/}But a poverty-stricken wise man was found, who by 
his wisdom saved the town. No one, however, remembered the poor 
man. {I}16_{/}So I said, "Better wisdom than heroism," but the wisdom 
of the poor is despised and his words are not heeded.
{I}17_{/}The words of the wise spoken calmly are heard above the 
shouts of a ruler of fools.
{I}18_{/}Wisdom is better than weapons; one sinner spoils much 
happiness.

{1}10{/}

[=]_{R}_{I}1_{/}As dead flies spoil a jar of perfumed oil, a little folly 
weighs heavier than wisdom and honor.
{R}_{I}2_{/}The heart of the wise man leads him to the right, the heart 
of the fool leads him to the left.

{I}3_{/}When the fool is on the road, he goes the wrong way and to all 
he meets he says, "There goes another fool."
[=]_{I}4_{/}If the ruler gets angry with you, do not stir, for 
composure prevents many grave mistakes.
{I}5_{/}An evil I discovered under the sun, an error of rulers: 
{I}6_{/}folly is exalted to the heights while rich men take the lowest 
places. {I}7_{/}I have seen slaves riding on horses, princes going on 
foot like slaves.
{R}_{I}8_{/}He who digs a pit may fall into it and he who pierces a wall 
may be bitten by a serpent;
{I}9_{/}he who quarries stones may be hurt by them and he who splits 
logs may be wounded;
{I}10_{/}if the axe is blunt and the edge not sharpened, you must 
strike stronger blows, in all this gain with wisdom. {R}_{I}11_{/}But if 
the serpent doesn't allow itself to be charmed and bites, what did 
the charmer gain?
{R}_{I}12_{/}The words from the lips of a wise man are gracious but the 
lips of a fool bring about his own ruin. {I}13_{/}Folly marks the 
beginning of his speech and pure madness, the end. {R}_{I}14_{/}Let him 
multiply his words! (Man does not know what will happen and who 
will let him know what comes after him?) {I}15_{/}Any work wearies the 
fool; he doesn't even know the way to go to town.
{R}_{I}16_{/}Alas for you, O land! if your ruler is a young man whose 
princes feast in the morning. [=]_{R}_{I}17_{/}Happy the land where the 
king is nobly born and where the princes eat at appropriate times, 
as fitting to men, rather than being drunk.
{R}_{I}18_{/}Laziness in man causes a ceiling to sag and because of a 
man's slackness a house leaks.
{R}_{I}19_{/}Man prepares a meal for pleasure; wine gives cheer to life 
while money is the answer to everything.
{R}_{I}20_{/}Even in your mind do not curse the king and in your bedroom 
do not curse the rich, for the birds of the air may tell what you 
say and winged carriers will make it known.

{1}11{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}Cast your bread on the water for after a given time you will 
find it again.
{I}2_{/}Share with seven or even with eight for you never know what 
misfortune may strike the earth.
{I}3_{/}When clouds are heavy rain falls on the earth and when a tree 
falls facing south or north there in that place it will lie.
{I}4_{/}He who watches the wind will not sow and he who watches the 
clouds will not reap.
[=]_{R}_{I}5_{/}Just as you do not know how the spirit pervades the 
members in the mother's womb, neither will you understand the work 
of God, creator of all things.
{I}6_{/}Sow your seed in the morning and do not be idle until the 
evening for you don't know whether one or the other will succeed. 
What if both prove to be good?

{N}SO MAN GOES FORWARD TO HIS ETERNAL HOME{/}

[\u0095]_{I}7_{/}Light is pleasant and it is good for the eyes to see the 
sun. {R}_{I}8_{/}If a man lives for many years, let him rejoice in them 
all, thinking that dark days will be many and all that comes after 
will be meaningless.
[=]_{R}_{I}9_{/}Rejoice, young man, in your youth and direct well your 
heart when you are young; follow your desires and achieve your 
ambitions but recall that God will take account of all you do.
{I}10_{/}Drive sorrow from your heart and pain from your flesh, for 
youth and dark hair will not last.

{1}12{/}

{I}1_{/}Be mindful of your Creator when you are young, before the time 
of sorrow comes when you have to say, "This gives me no pleasure,"
{I}2_{/}and before the sun, moon and stars withdraw their light, 
before the clouds gather again after the rain.
{I}3_{/}On the day when the guardians of the house tremble, when 
sturdy men are bowed and those at the mill stop working because 
they are too few, when it grows dim for those looking through the 
windows, {I}4_{/}and the doors are shut and the noise of the mill 
grows faint, the sparrow stops chirping and the bird-song is 
silenced, {R}_{I}5_{/}when one fears the slopes and to walk is 
frightening; yet the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper is fat 
and the caperberry bears fruit that serves no purpose, 
because man  goes forward to his eternal home and mourners gather 
in the street,
{R}_{I}6_{/}even before the silver chain is snapped or the golden globe 
is shattered, 
before the pitcher is broken at the fountain or the wheel at the 
mill,
[=]_{R}_{I}7_{/}before the dust returns to the earth from which it came 
and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
{I}8_{/}Meaningless! meaningless! the Teacher says; all is 
meaningless!
{R}_{I}9_{/}Besides being a wise man Qoheleth taught the people; he 
listened, studied and classified a great number of proverbs.
{I}10_{/}Qoheleth tried to write in a pleasant style and express 
frankly words of truth.
{I}11_{/}The words of the wise are spurs, their collected sayings are 
like a fence whose many pegs have been assembled by one shepherd.
{R}_{I}12_{/}Beware, my son, of searching beyond. Writing many books 
would be useless, and intense study wearies the body.
{R}_{I}13_{/}Conclusion: fear God and obey his precepts; for man depends 
entirely on this. {R}_{I}14_{/}God brings every deed to judgment, all 
that is hidden, be it good or bad.

